It was not until the subject of summer holidays came up that the severity of his condition really hit home.
‘The surgeon said, “No flights”, so I joked with my wife Debs, “It’ll have to be Scarborough for me and you this year then”,’ recalls Marco Gabbiadini.
‘But the surgeon then asked, “Is there a major hospital there?”. I said, “I don’t think so”, and he replied, “Well, I wouldn’t bother then if I was you”. When he said that, it was quite an eye opener.’
That conversation was back in May, a week after a stunned Gabbiadini was told his coronary arteries, which supply blood to the heart, had an 80 per cent blockage and that he urgently needed triple bypass surgery. Five months on, the former Sunderland and Derby striker is still waiting for his operation, which is finally booked in for next week.
‘It has been quite a trepidatious five months,’ the 56-year-old tells Mail Sport from his home in York. ‘Sadly, the way to get the surgery quickly is to collapse in the street and then you get rushed in. Luckily, I have avoided that scenario, but having had all this time to think about it has been quite difficult.
Ex-Premier League star Marco Gabbiadini (pictured) has spoken out about his heart condition
Gabbiadini sat down for an exclusive interview with Mail Sport’s David Coverdale just days before he is due to undergo triple bypass surgery
Gabbiadini (left) played for Derby County in the Premier League in the 1990s
‘I have been scared of going down and nobody being here. The family have tried to make sure I am never on my own in case something did happen. When I walk the dog, I now always try and walk where I know cars or people are going to be passing by.
‘I have had to stop exercising, so I am probably in the worst shape I have ever been in my life. Before May, I was still playing tennis a couple of times a week, cycling, gardening, helping the kids with their house renovations.
‘But the surgeon said, “Stop tennis, no gardening and don’t watch any football on the telly”. So I have been watching Sunderland games this season in full on YouTube after they have finished, so I know the score and there is no stress involved.
‘Having to have that mentality when you are only in your mid-50s has been a bit of a shock. But at the same time, you have got to count your lucky stars.
‘Reporting it early meant I was put on tablets. I am on blood thinners, statins – eight different tablets to give me the best chance of getting to the surgery. To anyone reading this story, if you do have any issues, report is as soon as you can.’
Gabbiadini, who has four children and four grandchildren, first reported his suspected issue in September 2022. That was three years after he retired from his second career of running an award-winning guest house with his wife in York.
‘I was probably the fittest I had been since I stopped playing football,’ reflects Gabbiadini. ‘I had a bit more time on my hands after selling the business and had joined the gym. One day, I was doing a warm-up on the cross trainer, and I was feeling this little pain in my chest, almost like heart burn. We also like a country walk with the kids and a couple of times on those walks I found I’d be lagging behind on a hill.’
Gabbiadini went to see a doctor and, though his blood tests came back clear and he was deemed to be a low-risk patient, he was referred to a specialist. Months later, he completed a cardiac stress test and was then booked in for an angiogram – an X-ray used to examine blood vessels – which he had this May.
Gabbiadini revealed he has had to stop exercising completely as he awaits surgery
He is also scared to be on his own in case he collapses and there is nobody to help him
But Gabbiadini wants to remain positive and ‘count his lucky stars’ that he got his diagnosis before it was too late
‘You go in thinking you are going to be right as rain,’ recalls Gabbiadini. ‘But the guy came to see me on the day ward and said, “You have 80 per cent blockages in three of your main arteries, this is quite serious, you have to have full open-heart surgery, we need to get you seen urgently”.
‘It was quite a shock. As a sportsman, you always feel a bit invincible. I have always tried to look after myself, so I was a bit like, “How has this happened?”.’
Gabbiadini made his heart condition public earlier this year and was inundated with messages of support from his friends in football. He played 791 games in a career spanning 19 years from 1985 to 2004, starting out at York City before making his name at Sunderland, where he was top scorer when they won promotion to the top tier in 1990.
Gabbiadini, who has an Italian father, played for England Under-21s and made one appearance for the England ‘B’ team, alongside future full internationals David Seaman, Tony Adams, Dennis Wise and Alan Smith.
He left Sunderland for top-flight Crystal Palace in 1991 as Ian Wright’s replacement before moving on to Derby, with whom he played his only season in the Premier League in 1996-97. Gabbiadini finished his career in the lower leagues with Darlington, Northampton and Hartlepool.
‘When I look back, the thing I am most proud of is my longevity,’ he says. ‘I started in the mid-80s, when you could go to the pub on a Friday night and players had a fag in the toilet before they went out. Water in the dressing room didn’t come in until halfway through my career. The only drink you could get was tea!
‘I was only earning £750 a week at Sunderland and I’d been player of the season three times and leading scorer for four years. My dad was a scaffolder and he used to earn nearly the same.
‘It was a slog. People say, “Why did you move to Crystal Palace?”. Well, I tripled my wages that day. Now, if you are a mediocre striker in the Championship, you are on £20,000 a week, so they are earning in a month what I earned in a year.
‘I think there should be a wage cap. We have got to the point where, as a fan, you are thinking these players don’t deserve it. It has gone a bit crazy.’
Gabbiadini is still involved in football as a pundit on BBC Radio Newcastle, but has not been able to travel to games this season because of his condition.
‘I have really missed being at the football,’ he admits. ‘A fixture like Sunderland v Derby last week, two of my old clubs, it would have been fantastic to be there. But I am waiting for the surgery, and I am trying not to get too stressed.’
The surgery date of October 21, then, cannot come soon enough for Gabbiadini.
Gabbiadini revealed he was only paid £750 a week at Sunderland despite being their player of the season three times
Gabbiadini is counting down the days to his surgery, but has admitted he is feeling ‘nervous’
‘Now it is coming close, I am nervous about two things,’ he adds. ‘There is still a chance they might not be able to fit me in because is all dependent on there being a bed available.
‘So I am scared about that but also, this is a big operation with a long recovery. It is about six weeks before you can drive or do anything like that.
‘You are in ICU for a day and then into high dependency for two days, then hopefully home after seven to nine days. Then I’ve got to deal with my wife being the nurse to me!
‘But I know it’s got to be done. Once it is done, they say it will last 35 years and I will be as strong as an ox. They take the blood vessels from your thigh, which are double the size, so it’s like you are on turbo charge. I am looking forward to that!’
